Renzo carried Peter back home. Aunt May opened the door and, seeing Peter covered in injuries, immediately covered her mouth, her eyes filled with distress.
"What happened? How could Peter—" she asked anxiously, quickly stepping aside to let Renzo in.
"It's nothing serious. He just took a bad fall down the stairs," Renzo said casually, offering a simple excuse as he helped Peter back to his room.
"How do you feel?" Renzo asked, guiding him onto the bed.
As Spider-Man, Peter's body wasn't that fragile. In the original timeline, he had stopped a train in the afternoon, rested briefly, and still fought Otto again that same night. His endurance was beyond ordinary.
"My arms don't feel like mine anymore… like overcooked noodles," Peter said with a bitter smile as he lay back. He could move them, but they still felt weak and distant, as if they didn't quite belong to him.
"Men can't afford to be soft," Renzo teased lightly, a faint yellow glow flickering on his forehead. "Recover quickly. We've still got something big to handle tonight."
"What is it?"
"I found Otto's lab."
"What?!" Peter shot upright in shock. "How did you find it?"
"I slipped a tracker onto him earlier, when he wasn't paying attention—right when he threw me under the train," Renzo said calmly. "People lose their awareness when they're angry. Otto's smart. If I got close under normal circumstances, he'd notice immediately. That would only make him more cautious…"
"…But when he's furious, he stops observing," Peter finished quietly, his eyes lighting up as he looked at Renzo.
"I want to ask you something."
"Go ahead."
"If we defeat Otto… what will you do with him?" Peter asked, his voice tense. "I mean… how will you deal with him?"
"Obviously…" Renzo glanced at Peter's anxious expression and gave a faint smile. "He's committed crimes and nearly killed innocent people. The right thing is to capture him and send him to prison."
He paused briefly.
"But if he's beyond saving… then I'd personally end it, so he can be reunited with his wife sooner."
Peter's heart tightened at those words. He didn't want anyone to die—especially not in front of him.
He still remembered Norman Osborn's death. The disbelief and fear in his eyes… and the regret buried deep within. Peter understood that regret—it wasn't for his crimes, but for his son.
Otto and Norman were walking similar paths.
Peter wanted to save him—but didn't know how. It felt like being caught in a storm at sea, surrounded by darkness and violent waves, with no way out—only the suffocating presence of something lurking beneath the surface.
"Peter, you're kind. But kindness needs direction," Renzo said seriously. "Don't waste it on someone who's chosen the wrong path."
"Sometimes, for justice—for something greater—we have to give up parts of ourselves. The things we cherish… even our dreams."
"A hero doesn't need blind kindness. What a hero needs is the resolve to save others."
Renzo had said all he needed to say. Whether Peter understood it was up to him.
Silence settled between them, heavy and unbroken.
...
Otto stood before the massive machine, his expression burning with excitement—as if he were gazing upon something divine.
This device was his life's work—a nuclear fusion reactor.
Everything he had was poured into it: money, time, intellect… and more.
Tears welled in his eyes. His dream was finally within reach. He would show New York—show the world—that he wasn't a madman. He was a genius. Someone who could stand alongside Einstein.
"I will succeed!" Otto muttered, completely consumed. The looming success blinded him to the catastrophic consequences. If it went wrong, the entire city could be destroyed.
"Dr. Octavius!"
Otto turned sharply. Behind him stood Peter and Renzo, watching him with grave expressions.
Rage flared instantly. His experiment was seconds from success—he wouldn't let them ruin it.
"Can you handle him?" Renzo asked quietly.
"I think so. He's down one arm," Peter replied. "You stop the machine!"
They split up immediately.
Peter lunged at Otto, and the two clashed in the water, locked in combat.
With one tentacle gone, Otto's strength had dropped significantly. Even at full power, defeating Spider-Man was difficult—now, his chances were even slimmer.
Despite not being fully recovered, Peter gradually gained the upper hand, pinning Otto down.
"Dr. Octavius! Wake up!" Peter shouted, pressing him down. "Your experiment will kill innocent people! You have to stop it!"
"Impossible!" Otto roared, grabbing Peter with his remaining arms and hurling him aside.
The impact left Peter disoriented for a moment. Seizing the opportunity, Otto rushed toward the machine—to stop Renzo.
Renzo was still assessing the device, considering how to destroy it. Should he throw it into the river like before? Or dismantle it from within? The simplest solution, in his mind, was to understand its structure and shut it down directly.
As he was thinking, something suddenly wrapped around his waist.
His vision blurred—
And the next moment, he was airborne.
Otto slammed him down, pressing his head into the water, trying to drown him.
But he didn't realize—
Renzo didn't need to breathe.
"I knew it…" Renzo sighed faintly. As expected, Peter couldn't bring himself to be ruthless.
Renzo decided to end this quickly.
He altered his body's density. The tentacles that had been gripping him tightly suddenly slipped free.
Otto's face filled with shock.
But Renzo didn't give him time to react.
He burst out of the water, seized Otto's head with both hands, and unleashed the power of the Mind Stone. Golden light flared from his forehead, flooding into Otto's mind.
From the beginning, Renzo had never intended to kill him. Those earlier words had only been meant to shake Peter.
At his core, Otto was still a good man. The mechanical arms had only amplified his obsession, pushing him toward extremes.
Now, Renzo was using the Mind Stone to purge that chaos—to clear away the corruption and restore him.
"Ah!" Otto screamed, clutching his head. It felt as though his mind was being torn apart and reassembled—but the pain was brief.
Moments later, he slumped to the ground, his eyes dull and unfocused.
Peter finally regained his bearings. He looked at Otto, then at Renzo, equally stunned.
Renzo frowned slightly. Had he used too much force?
"…Did I break him?"
"Peter?"
The confused voice pulled Peter back to reality.
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